Everyday Chances to Educate

[mufasa]

It amazes me how little I knew about guinea pigs when I arrived here, and now I see so many newbies coming in with the same lack of knowledge. Thank goodness we all ended up here! Today I discovered that there are other everyday opportunities to educate people about piggies even if they've never looked 'em up on the internet.

I was in the grocery store checkout with a bag of corn husks (learned to look for those here), and I told the cashier it wasn't veggies, just scrap material for my guinea pigs. That led to him asking about their diets, so of course I mentioned hay and veggies as well as pellets. Then the woman behind me asked a couple of questions which I could thankfully answer correctly. I don't know if either one of them will ever get a piggy, but they have at least a little more knowledge if they do, and who knows who else might have overheard us.

Does anyone else run into those little everyday opportunities to educate? I plan to try to do it in a nice way if I'm in pet stores and see people looking at bad stuff like yogurt drops, tiny cages, etc.

 

[MissJean]

If someone approaches me with questions I'd gladly answer them, but I'm wary of approaching people in stores. Some people don't want advice and are rude, and I'd have a full-blown panic attack if someone told me off.

I went to the pet store many, many months ago (when I still used Oxbow) with my sister and she probably thinks I'm snobby now. She kept picking out unhealthy treats with flashy packaging and I kept having to tell her it's not good for them. I don't really think she believes me. She's one of those folks who thinks,"Well if it says for guinea pigs on the box it must be good!"

Since I can't tell the difference between people like her and people open for advice, I tend to keep my mouth shut.

 

[mufasa]

I'm pretty assertive and can be tactful when needed (side effect of being a counselor) so I'd be okay with starting a pet store conversation. People love to talk about their pets, so that's how I'd approach it. Something like: "Ah, you're looking at guinea pig treats. Do you have a piggy? Me too! What color is yours? etc." (A little buttering up.) Then something like, "Looking at the yogurt treats, huh? Can you believe they sell something that's actually so bad for guinea pigs? Oh well, it's so much easier giving fresh veggies anyway since you don't have to come all the way to the pet store to get them."

If I get a "bug off" vibe, I'll back off immediately. Fortunately, I seem to have a non-threatening aura that leads people to chat with me on airplanes, ask me for directions in the street, etc. so I hope it will pay off if I try some pet store education.

 

[MissJean]

@spy9doc That is very cool. I've read about programs where they bring in shelter animals for the college students to hang out with during breaks. It helps relieve stress. I bet you bringing in Chester really helps make their day!

Seems like a good group to teach about cavy health, too. College students who don't live in dorms may live in an apartment that doesn't allow cats or dogs, but permits caged animals. A lot of them might have considered getting a guinea pig.